History On the third day of
October 1942 the first truly ballistic missile was launched from Peenemünde
in Germany watched by it creators Werner von Braun and army General Walter
Dornberger.

It
was the fourth attempt (v4 = Version 4) to launch a A4 (V-2) rocket, and
this prototype was decorated with a drawing of “Der Frau im Mond” (The
Lady at the moon) – inspired by the movie of the same name.

The
V-2 was a major step towards space, and cannot be underestimated. It
carried out the ideas of other pioneers like Tsiolkovsky, Obert and
Goddard. But it was also done at a very high price.

The
cooperation with the Nazi-regime casts long shadows over the V-2 story.
Von Braun’s role in this is still under debate – especially in Europe.
The fact is, that the manufacturings of the rockets were done by workers
in the concentrations camps Dora Mittelbau or Nordhausen. It has been
estimated, that for each operational V-2, 6 inmates were worked to death. This
model is dedicated to the memory of these slave workers.

At the end of the war Von Braun and most of his
team, was captured by the US, and as part of “Operation Paper Clip”
was moved to USA. The captured V-2’s were also send to USA, were it was
used as a sounding rocket. USSR captured a lot of technicians and carried
out, their own V-2 programme.

Note: This model is my own original design based entirely on my own
research. I created it, because were are many modellers, who builds models
in 1:96 or 1:100, and because I wanted a model of this specific V-2.

If you are interested in a larger and more detailed
model, I recommend you to take a look at Ralph Currell's model in
1:32. You will find it in two different paint schemes:Ralph Currell's free
models

Sources:

Books and
articles:
Germany's Secret Weapons by Roger Ford

V-2 Ballistic Missile 1942-1952 by Steven J. Zagola

Dawn of the Rocket Age by Joachim Engelmann

The Rocket - The History and Development of Rocket and Missile
Technology by David Baker.